Stranded
by GreenLady
Summary: (Gundam Seed) What if it was Kira, not Kagari, who had been shot down and stranded on that island with Asran? Yaoi, Asran/Kira


**Summary**:  What if it was Kira, not Kagari, who had been shot down and stranded on that island with Asran?  This is where I get to play the "what if" game.

**Disclaimer**:  Gundam Seed belongs to Bandai, Sunrise, and whoever else has a hand in the gundam pie.  I own nothing, and profit off of nothing.

**Warnings**:  R for implied sex, Asran/Kira, of course.  Yaoi, obviously, which for those who don't know (and why would you people be reading this?) involves boys, together in a relationship of a sexual nature.  Also, there are probably some spoilers up to episode 24, the episode that I happen to be bastardizing.  And yes, in case you were wondering, at one point this was a full lemon, but I can hardly post that on ff.net now can I?

**Author's Notes:**  I am completely depressed about the lack of Gundam Seed fan fiction, so here's my own humble contribution.  Also, is it just my imagination, or are the boys always yelling each other's names?  It's all "Kira!" "Asran!"  "Kira Yamato!"  "Asran, Asran Zara!"  It definitely feeds my imagination, and you can blame (or thank) those scenes for this.

A huge thanks goes out to all those on the Gundam Seed Yaoi Mailing list who helped me with the name issue, even if it was never really settled.  Also, thanks to Ken for the helpful emails answering my stupid questions.  And of course, I can't forget my wonderful friend Willowbranch who, despite computer incompatibility, managed to beta this for me.  Without her, I might never have had the guts to write this.

// thoughts // Stranded 

By Green Lady

Kira shifted his backpack; the weight of the emergency rations a comforting burden.  It reminded him that his luck could have been worse.  After all, he had almost lost the emergency pack to the ocean when he had exited his downed fighter jet.  Only swift Coordinator reflexes had saved it from being swept out to sea.

He absently blew a piece of hair out his eyes and trudged onward, studying his surroundings as he passed through them.  Kira had to admit that they were pretty.  Though he wished that his first experience on a tropical island had been through some sort of vacation, not because of getting shot down.  Kira grimaced as he remembered exactly what had led up to his current situation.

The battle between ZAFT's underwater forces and Strike had been surprisingly swift.  Kira had chopped through them and returned to the Archangel, only to find that Fraga and Kagari were still out fighting the airborne forces.  Without the ability to fly, Strike hadn't been able to follow, so against the Captain's orders, Kira had taken a fighter jet.  He had helped Fraga and his Sky-grasper clean up some Dinns, than went after Kagari.

Good thing, too.

She had found an enemy cargo ship and fired upon it.  But they had fired back.  Kira was just in time to take the shot meant for her, and it blew out one of his main engines.  Kagari hadn't had time to follow and make sure he was okay, as another Dinn had closed in.

Kira just hoped she was all right.

He had managed to make a rough landing on one of the tiny islands to the west of the battle.  Unfortunately, all the radio channels were jammed so he knew that the Archangel wasn't going to get his distress signal.  With the fighter damaged beyond Kira's ability to fix without any extra parts, he had no choice but to remain on the island until the airwaves cleared.  Not the best scenario, but he should be okay as long as the Archangel didn't forget about him.

Kira wasn't letting himself think about the other things that could happen without him there to protect the ship.

He crested the rise of another embankment.  For a second he glimpsed bright blue sea, the other side of the island, and then a figure in a red and white flight suit walked into view.  

Kira dove to the ground, flattening himself to the dirt.  // A ZAFT soldier! // 

Breathing hard, he remained motionless for nearly a full minute.  Had he been seen?  The enemy had only been in view for a second; Kira hadn't even gotten a good look at him.  There was no way he could have spotted Kira, right?  Finally, he lifted his head again and cautiously peeked over the small cliff. 

The stretch of beach was empty.

// Shit, // Kira thought, // has he left already_?_ //  His stomach tightened with anxiety.

A small furtive scuffing sound echoed from behind him.  // I was seen.   He circled behind me! //Without thinking twice, Kira exploded into action.  He launched his body forward and rolled down the cliff he had just been peering over.  Bullets pinged into the ground where he had just been lying.  Kira tried to control his roll down the hill, his hand sweeping up a large stone as he fell.  The slope ended about ten feet from the sand, the steep diagonal breaking off into a sheer vertical drop.  He used his feet to push himself from the hill just before it got too steep.  Looking up, he saw a blurred figure beginning to point a gun down at him.  He pulled back his arm and threw the stone he had collected.

It struck the enemy's gun about the same time Kira hit the ground.

With all the breath knocked out of him, all he could do was follow the path of the weapon as it arced through the air and fell down to impact with the sand about twenty feet from where he was lying.  Violent eyes flickered back up in sudden panic as a new thought occurred.  //What if he has a back up weapon?//

The figure was gone from the hill.

With a quiet curse, Kira painfully hauled himself to his hands and knees and began to crawl toward the gun.  He had never fired one before and didn't plan to now.  But he had to get it before the other soldier did.  

A shadow fell over him and Kira reacted, rolling to the side and throwing up a cloud of fine-grained sand behind him.  He scrambled to his feet, slipping slightly on the loose ground.  He turned to face his enemy.

And gasped.

"Asran!"

The other boy stared, a startled look crossing his handsome features.  "Kira!"

Both pilots were frozen, gaping at each other in shock.

Asran felt a terrible sense of dread in the pit of his stomach as the shock faded, and he was struck with a memory.  Facing Kira across a small expanse of airless space, and their last conversation. // "Then it can't be helped, the next time we face each other in battle I'll shoot you." //  
__

_// _"... And I'll do the same."_//___

His eyes briefly flickered toward the gun, than he launched himself at it.

Kira saw the intent a split second before the action.  "Asran!"  He moved too, and they collided mere inches from the weapon.  They grappled, and for a moment Kira was reminded of their past together, when they had sparred for fun, training themselves for the future. 

But, he remembered as he suddenly felt cold steel bite against his neck, this wasn't that time.  Asran had him on his stomach, arms twisted behind his back, with a knife pressed to his throat.  For a second, Kira thought that he was actually going to do it.  He tensed in anticipation, waiting for more force to be applied to the blade.  His throat was about to be slit by his best friend.

But it never came.

Instead there was a low spoken command in his ear.  "Get up."

Keenly aware of the knife against his neck, Kira got carefully to his feet, though not cautiously enough because the blade lightly nicked his throat.  He could feel a small trickle of blood ooze down.

"Move."  Asran walked Kira several feet forward, until the gun, partly buried in sand, was right next to the ZAFT soldier's foot.  With one deft move, Asran hooked the toe of his boot underneath the firearm and flipped it upward.  He smoothly caught it in his free hand, not once lessoning the pressure of the knife on Kira's throat.

There was tension in Asran's body.  Kira could feel it in the arm around his shoulders and the chest pressed against his back.  He hesitated for a minute, and then seemed to come to a decision, as he took the knife away and stepped back a couple of feet.  Kira heard the safety of the gun click off behind him.  He stiffened, holding his breath in sudden fear.

"Start walking."  

Kira risked a look over his shoulder, and their eyes met, unhappy violet to determined green.  "Which way?"  He asked hesitantly.

"Right."  Asran gestured slightly with the gun.  "Down the beach."

He complied, and it wasn't long before something came into view.  It was the Aegris.  Kira stared up at the stolen machine, not even realizing he had stopped until Asran jammed the gun into his back.  He took the hint and continued to the foot of the mobile suit, where Asran stopped him and bent to rummage through a pile of supplies.  His gun hand never wavered.

Asran pulled out a handful of blue cords.  "Sit on the ground and put your hands behind your back," he commanded tersely.

Kira remained frozen as Asran stalked back to him.  For a second he considered resisting.  His chances weren't going to be good if he let himself be tied up.  But Asran was no Natural, his reflexes were just as good as Kira's and by now he probably had more training.  There weren't really any options.

He sat down and put his hands behind his back.

Asran wasted no time in tying Kira's wrists and ankles together.  The blue cord was tight, but not painfully so.  "What are you planning on doing with me?  Kira finally asked.

"I'm taking you with me.  It's time you go where you belong."  Asran straightened up and holstered his gun.  "Where did you hide Strike, Kira?"

"It's not here."

Green eyes grew cold.  "So you're still letting yourself be manipulated by them?"

"It's not like that!"

"Oh really?"  He snorted in disbelief.  "My superiors at Plant will go easier on you if we bring back the mobile suit.  It's not like it's any good to the Naturals without you anyway."

"Strike isn't here, Asran!  I got shot down in an aircraft!"

"Why were you flying that . . ."  Asran looked at him sharply.  "It was you who shot down my carrier."  It wasn't a question.

Kira blinked, than realized that he was talking about Kagari.  "No, that wasn't me!"

The other boy studied him piercingly for a moment, than finally shrugged.  "I guess it doesn't really matter.  You're still my prisoner."

Kira flinched.  "Don't . . ." he swallowed nervously, too unsure to go on.

"Don't what?  Take you where you belong?  It's time to come home, Kira.  With me."

The violet-eyed boy tried to curl into a protective ball, but was hampered by the restraints.  When he spoke, his voice was soft.  "Home?  Home was Heliopolis, until you people destroyed it."

Asran glared.  "You people?  They're your people Kira!  Damn it, you're a Coordinator!  You're so stupid; stop being so naïve. Stop letting them control you!"  He took a step forward, hands clenched and trembling at his sides, staring down at the bound boy at his feet.  Kira flinched again, expecting a kick to the ribs.  He squeezed his eyes shut.

The angry boy noticed the protective posture and paused.  With a visible effort, Asran got himself back under control.  Deliberately he relaxed his fists and took a deep breath.  "I'm going to try and get Aegis's communications system to work."  The boy on the ground did not meet his eyes.  He hesitated for a second.  "Don't try anything," he added finally.

Kira listened to Asran's footsteps as he walked away.  // As if I could try anything_,_ // he thought sardonically, flexing his fingers as much as possible within the rope.  He shifted listlessly on the sand, than rolled over to face the Aegis.  

He watched the open hatch of the cockpit carefully for nearly thirty minutes, looking away whenever Asran glanced out to check on him.  He was overwhelmed with a hot, aching despair.  So this is what they had come to.  This is what war had done to them both.  Kira wasn't stupid, no matter what Asran said.  He wouldn't be facing a welcome with the other Coordinators.  And with him gone, the Archangel was vulnerable.  His friends were in danger.  Frey, Milly, Tohru, Kazui, Kagari, and even Sai, though they weren't on the best of terms right now.

So lost in despair was he that he didn't even feel the first drops of rain.  It wasn't until the water was falling down in sheets that he looked up at the sky.  The dark clouds were angry and swollen, rolling unrelentingly across the heavens.  Kira shut his eyes, feeling the heavy drops pelt his face and soak his clothing.  He heard the sound of cursing and blinked the water out of his eyes.  Asran was standing over him, looming like a dark cloud himself.

"It's a squall!"  He shouted over the wind.  "Damn, this isn't going to help the reception.  We need to get under cover!"

He pulled Kira up, and they began to make their slow, careful way to shelter.

Kira stared into the flickering flames, trying to shift closer to the small fire, made awkward by his bound hands and feet.  He shivered violently, and glanced longingly at his soaked clothes hung on the makeshift clothesline on the other side of the small cave.  He felt exposed even under the light emergency blanket Asran had provided him with.  

His violet eyes flickered up as he heard footsteps.  Asran ducked back into their small shelter, shaking water from his dark blue hair.  "It doesn't look like it's going to let up any time soon.  The rain will probably last through the night.  We're not going anywhere until morning."  He glanced at Kira's shivering form with concern.  "Are you still cold?"

The other boy nodded slightly, then looked up at his captor.  "What about you?  You're nearly as wet as I am."  It was true; Asran's lips were beginning to develop a definite blue tinge.

"I'll be fine," he said, than began to unzip his flight suit, peeling the wet material back from his skin.  

Kira blushed and looked away, realizing that he was undressing.  He listened to the rustle of clothing, and then glanced around the sandy cavern with some concern.  He heard the other boy settle close to the fire, and glanced up furtively.  Asran was holding his hands out to the flames, pale skin glowing in the flickering light.  His blue hair had turned indigo.  "A-Asran?"  He said nervously, glancing down again quickly.  He felt more than heard when he had the other boy's attention.  "Is this the only blanket?"

If Kira had looked up he would have seen Asran shrug.  "Emergency packs usually only come with enough supplies for one person."

Kira shifted uncomfortably under the cloth in question.  "Why don't you take it?"

"Don't be stupid, you're freezing."

The other boy swallowed nervously.  "We, um, well, we could share it?"  His voice ended on a questioning note, and Kira kept his eyes firmly on the ground.  "I mean, there's no reason for you to die of hypothermia just because I'm here."

There was silence from the other side of the fireplace, and Kira found himself holding his breath.  Then, there was a slight sound of movement, and he felt the blanket being lifted slightly as Asran crawled underneath it behind Kira.  He left an inch or two between them, but Kira could still feel his shivers vibrating through the cloth now covering them both.

Or maybe they were his own shivers.  At this point it was quite honestly hard to tell.

They lay that way, both tense, for several minutes, but the heat didn't seem to want to eddy in the space separating them.  Finally, Kira heard Asran make a soft sound of annoyance.  "This is stupid," he muttered, and shifted forward to close the distance between them.

Wet flesh settled against wet flesh, and both boys lay tensely, waiting for the other to object.

Neither said anything.

Kira was intensely aware of the chest pressed against his back and the warm breath tickling the nape of his neck.  His bound hands rested against Asran's lightly defined stomach.  He stared out into the night, eyes moving beyond the orange pool of light that stopped just at the edge of the cave.  The dark was blacker because of the contrast.  Gradually, Kira felt himself relaxing, lulled by the constant pattering of rain blending with the quiet exhalations of air made near his ear.

Warmth was finally settling beneath the blanket, trapped beneath their nude bodies.  Both boys had stopped shivering now, and they just lay, quiet and still.

"I talked with Lux."  Asran murmured, voice hushed, as if he didn't want to interrupt the drumming of the rain.  Kira didn't say anything, but his head shifted slightly in a listening gesturing.  "She told me that you still had Tori."

"Yes," Kira agreed softly.

"Why?"

"Why what?  Why do I still have Tori?"  Asran nodded against the back of Kira's head.  "I guess . . . well, why wouldn't I?  Tori's my friend, and . . . you gave him to me."

"He's a mechanical bird.  He doesn't have feelings, Tori can't be your friend."

The other boy was silent for a minute, and Asran buried his face in the back of Kira's neck, waiting.  "But Asran," he repeated, "you gave him to me.  Why did you do it if not for that?"

"Because, I guess because I couldn't be there."

Kira smiled slightly.  "Then you left Tori so that he could be my friend.  He, well, I suppose he holds your feelings.  He doesn't need his own."

Asran breathed quietly against his neck, then impulsively reached between them and held Kira's bound hands in his own.  "Well now you have me again."

Violet eyes stared into the dark.  "Like this?  As a prisoner?  Asran, are you really going to hand me over to ZAFT?"

"There's no other choice Kira.  You'll see.  You were being manipulated by the Naturals.  I'll make them understand that."  Kira laughed slightly, a harsh, bitter noise eerily similar to a sob.  Asran moved his arms around the other boy, cradling him.  "It will be okay.  I swear it.  I'll protect you."

The bound boy was silent, but he relaxed back into Asran's chest and let himself be held.

They lay in silence for a while, and Kira was beginning to get drowsy when Asran spoke.  "Kira, do you remember, when we were little, that time in the park, under the cherry blossoms?"

Kira opened his eyes wide and wet his lips.  "Yeah . . . how could I forget?  You were my first kiss."

"And you were mine."  Asran's face was hot, and he rubbed it gently through Kira's soft hair.  "I thought, some day, we'd be together again."  He hesitated for a minute, and then brushed his mouth across the nape of his friend's neck.

Kira swallowed compulsively, feeling the butterfly-soft brush of lips.  "Asran.  I . . . Asran."

"I'll protect you Kira.  I swear it."  He kissed his neck again, and hid his face back into the other boy's dark hair.

For a moment, Kira let himself be held, staring out into the darkness beyond the reach of their campfire; violet eyes contemplative and sad.  Suddenly, he began to wiggle.

Immediately, Asran let him go, moving back slightly to give Kira some space.  But he wasn't trying to get away; instead he awkwardly rolled over until they were face to face.  They were so close that to Kira's eyes Asuran's face was just two points of green swimming in a blurry blob of pale color.  "I missed you," he murmured simply.  "Why did you do it?"

Asran felt the gentle puff of the words on his mouth.  "Do what?"

 "Agree to fight.  You told me once that you hated war."

"I-I do."  Asran took a breath, green eyes focusing far away.  "But sometimes, there isn't any choice.  You can't help but get swept along by forces bigger than you.  War is such a force."  His eyes re-focused on his friend's face.  "Isn't that what happened to you, Kira?"

Kira thought back to everything that had led up to this point.  The attack on Heliopolis had happened so fast; he had just reacted, to everything.  He had done what he thought he had to do.  "Yeah, I guess it is.  But, Asran, we're not at war now.  There's only the two of us here.  We're free, at least for now."

Asran had a strange expression on his face.  "Are we?"

"Yeah," Kira whispered, leaning forward almost imperceptibly, "you can't fight a war with just two people."

"That's true," Asran breathed quietly, and then he moved the necessary centimeter and caught Kira's lips in a hesitant kiss.

It was awkward at first, what with Kira's bound hands restricting his movement.  But then Asran opened his mouth and ran his tongue along his bottom lip, and Kira opened his mouth to let him in.

And it wasn't so strange anymore.  It just was.

Asran pressed closer, loving the groan he got from Kira when he rubbed up against him.  Their tongues battled fiercely, and their hips jerked against each other helplessly.  The brown-haired boy let out a frustrated whimper when his secured ankles wouldn't let him get closer.  Asuran pushed him on his back suddenly, moving to climb after him when he heard a grunt of pain.  "Ouch!"

Asuran looked down as Kira shifted uncomfortably within the restraints.  "This is awkward," he said, trying to get his full weight off of his uncomfortably twisted hands and arms.  

Asuran pulled away several inches, blinking slightly glazed green eyes.  He wet his lips, and then asked hesitantly, "you won't try and run?"

Kira studied him intently, violet eyes strangely unreadable.  For a second, the gaze made Asran almost uncomfortable, but then the other boy shook his head.  "No, I won't run.  I'll come with you."

Asran blew out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.  He untangled himself from the other boy, and moved to his pile of sopping clothing.  He rummaged around briefly, than came out with the knife.  The sharp edge gleamed in the firelight.  He cut the ropes around Kira's ankles, but then hesitated when it came to his wrists.  He sliced one key knot off, and then pulled Kira's arms in front of him and re-tied them.  He met his eyes almost guiltily.  "I'm sorry, it's just . . ."

Kira shrugged and nodded, eyes reflecting nothing but firelight.  "I know," he whispered, and lifted his arms to circle behind Asran's head.  Nothing else needed to be said.

And for one night, in a place untouched by war, they were together.

Later they collapsed together in exhaustion, Asran lying limply on top of Kira.  The brown-haired boy didn't mind the weight.  Instead he found it oddly reassuring.  It meant that their time wasn't yet over.

Because he knew it couldn't last.

An undetermined amount of time later Asran rolled off and snuggled beside Kira, arms sliding possessively around him.  He moved his head back so that he could meet violet eyes.  "Kira I . . ."

"Shh.  I know Asran, it will be okay."  He interrupted quietly, eyes sad at the lie.  "Let's go to sleep."

Asran's eyes studied him, a sliver of fear swimming through their green depths as they looked at him.  But the unformed thought never reached his consciousness, and soon they were entwined in sleep.

When the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, Kira untangled himself stealthily from the possessive grasp and took Asran's knife in order to cut the rope around his hands.  For a second he stared at the cut rope and contemplated bringing the other boy with him.  But with the way the crew of the Archangel had treated Lux Klein, a civilian, chances were that Asran would be much worse off.  He let the pieces of blue cord fall to the sand.

Kira moved slowly, and every time Asran shifted in sleep he would freeze and stare at the other boy tensely.  But, perhaps knowing he was safe in his friend's company, Asran didn't wake up.  Kira headed out to the beach and his downed jet, leaving Asran and the Aegris behind.

And before the sun was fully up, a rescue vessel from the Archangel spotted Kira and he returned to the war.


End file.
